Four new fish en-croute products in the range

Regis have just added four new products to the Fish Specialities range, three salmon en-croute and one smoked haddock en-croute. These would be perfect for a light supper or lunch dish. In the lead up to Christmas, I will also be offering a pick-n-mix selection, so you can order a combination box of 8, 10 or 12 and you decide the mix.

Salmon en-croute

Prime salmon fillet in a rich butter and prawn sauce, in a puff pastry case, finished with asparagus and chives.

Salmon cointreau

Prime salmon fillet smothered in cointreau and prawn sauce in a puff pastry case, finished with a twist of lemon, orange zest and chopped chives.

Salmon and Lobster en-croute

Prime salmon fillet in lobster sauce with tomato, basil and creme fraiche, enveloped in puff pastry and topped with tomato, basil and parmesan.

Smoked Haddock Imperial

Natural smoked haddock in a florentine sauce of spinach & cheese, encased in puff pastry and finished with cheddar and redcurrants.

As with the other specialities, all can be cooked from frozen. The only suggestion I would make is to brush with an egg or milk wash to ensure a more appealing colour

Monkfish - Some background and a recipe

First, there is no such fish as a monkfish. What we refer to as monkfish is in fact Angler Fish or sometimes Angel Shark.

As you can see from the picture above, the angler fish is mostly head, the only commercially valuable part is the tail, although monkfish cheeks are a particular delicacy, they really are difficult to source. Even more difficult to find and highly prized in some cultures are monkfish livers but I don't do offal, from any animal.

Once known as "poor man's lobster", until its elevation by celebrity chefs, monkfish was used to bulk-out chowders and even to create faux-scampi. I remember a time when most monkfish were landed as unwanted bycatch and were sold straight to fishmeal processing. My trawlermen relatives would bring us monk tails and my old fella and me would pickle them in spiced white wine vinegar.

Now my favourite method of cooking monkfish is to wrap in Parma ham or thinly-sliced, dry-cured streaky bacon. Here's my favourite recipe:

 Parma ham wrapped roast monkfish (serves 2)

2 Regis monkfish tail fillets, thawed
6 slices of parma ham, thin-cut pancetta or dry-cured streaky bacon
Fresh sage leaves
Salt & pepper

Spread clingfilm over a chopping board and lay the ham slices on the clingfilm so that they overlap.

Lay one monkfish fillet on the ham and season. Lay the sage leaves on top of the fillet and then place the second fillet on top so that the thick end is on top of the thin end of the bottom fillet and season.

Wrap the ham tightly around the monkfish fillet sandwich and then wrap the whole lot tightly in the clingfilm and regrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat the oven to 180c (Gas 5). Place an oiled frying pan over a medium heat and sear on all sides for one minute. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from the oven and slice, at an angle, into 6 medallions.

Serve with minted pea mash (use frozen peas, Mr Birdseye really does know best here), boiled new potatoes and if required, a simple lemon sauce made by deglazing the frying pan with half a glass of white wine, juice & zest of half a lemon, a knob of butter and a pinch of fresh, chopped sage & oregano.

Monkfish really is an ideal fish for many cooking methods, it will handle curries, barbecues or deep frying in a tempura batter. Even those people who claim they don't like fish will change their minds once they've tried monk.

Herb crusted roast cod loin

This is a simple and easy recipe, taking around 30 minutes from freezer to plate (no need to thaw the fish first)..

Serves 4 (just reduce/increase measurements for any other numbers)

Ingredients

• 4 Regis frozen cod loin fillets
• 100gm (4oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbsps chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped chives or any other herbs such as dill, coriander or tarragon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan

Method

Pre-heat oven to 220c / gas mark 7

Remove cod loins from freezer, run the top of each loin under a cold tap to remove the glaze and pat dry.

Place cod loins on a lightly oiled baking tray or dish

In a bowl combine: breadcrumbs. lemon zest & juice, herbs and olive oil.

Spread each loin with mustard and press breadcrumb mixture on top

Sprinkle with parmesan ans season with salt & pepper

Place tray in centre of oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve with your choice of potatoes, rice, vegetables or salad.

*** To save time in future, make a larger batch of the breadcrumb mixture and keep in the freezer, it freezes well and keeps for ages.

To thaw or not to thaw?

I'm often asked whether our fish & meat should be defrosted prior to cooking. The vast majority of Regis dishes can be cooked from frozen, in fact they are better cooked from frozen. The fish, meat and poultry specialities should ALWAYS be cooked from frozen and in most cases that is oven cooked.

There are some fish that I would always recommend are thawed before cooking, namely:

Salmon fillet

Tuna loin steak

Monkfish

Swordfish

These fish are "meaty" and if cooked from frozen, there is a tendency to overcook them. I prefer instead to allow them to defrost completely, then if I am pan-frying, I would always use a heavy bottomed pan (I prefer to use a griddle pan) and always oil the fish, not the pan. Heat the pan dry, oil and season the fish with a good quality light oil such as grapeseed, rapeseed, peanut or olive oil. Don't use extra virgin olive oil, it's a waste for frying. Extra virgin olive oil has a high degree of olive pulp and it burns, tainting the oil. Use extra virgin for salad dressings, buy ordinary light olive oil for frying with.

Once the pan is hot, simply place the previously oiled and seasoned fish in the pan and watch the edges, they will show you how the fillet is cooking. After no more that 3 or 4 minutes, flip it over and give it no more than 2 more minutes - don't forget to oil and season that side too. One thing to bear in mind is that once you remove the fillet from the pan, it will continue cooking for another couple of minutes. So gently part the fillet and make sure it is cooked to your preference.

The same basic principles apply to many of our meats too, especially the ribeye, sirloin, fillet and gammon.

Just remember: oil the fish/meat, not the pan.

I'll soon be publishing some of my favourite recipes, so please keep checking back.

So how fresh is "fresh fish"?

I consider myself fortunate that most of the fish I eat has been caught by my own (not so) fair hands. The fish is caught, dispatched and immediately placed on ice in a coolbox. Once I've got the fish home, it will then be filleted, vacuum-sealed and frozen. Quite often, I will then cook off the heads and frames and remove what meat remains to either make fishcakes or feed the cats. But what about those who don't or can't catch their own fish?

Although we have seen a decline in the number of dedicated wet-fish shops on the high street, these have been replaced with fish counters in supermarkets and independent delis. There are also a number of "fish vans" selling at markets or door-to-door. But when you see the sign "Fresh Fish", just how fresh is that fish? Although there is no legal definition, the accepted definition of "Fresh Fish" is: "Fish that has not been previously frozen and has been kept on ice for no longer than 21 days". Yes, fish can still be described as "fresh" even if it was caught up to three weeks prior to the point of sale. This may come as a shock to some but those of us above a certain age can see the reasoning behind such a long shelf-life. Prior to the advent of freezer-trawlers and factory ships, the UK deep-water fleet would often be at sea for up to three weeks: one week steaming to the fishing grounds, one week fishing and one week steaming home. Once back at the home port, the fish had to be landed, sold at market and then either sent for further processing (usually within spitting distance of the market), or loaded onto lorries and trains for delivery inland. So a fish caught on the first day's fishing would be 14 days old before it even came to market.

Much of the fish we currently eat has been caught, processed and frozen at sea and although freezing can cause some slight reduction in quality, modern freezing techniques keep this to an absolute minimum. This may not be the case with fish bought over the counter. Next time you are at a fish counter, take a close look at the labelling of the fish, quite often you will find, in tiny print: "previously frozen - do not re-freeze". Often you will find these fish placed directly adjacent to fish that really is "fresh" and has a whopping great sign declaring that fact. Certainly not unlawful but could easily be construed as misleading. So when you see discounted fish on the supermarket counter, please look closely at the label before taking advantage of the offer and filling your freezer for the future.

Another slight-of-hand practise is labelling a sealed tray of wet-fish as "freshly prepared". This description is no indicator of the age or "freshness" of the actual fish, all it tells you is that it has recently been prepared. In many instances this "preparation" consists of little more than cutting off the head, possibly filleting and throwing on a lump of parsley. Mackerel is often seen labelled in this manner and the reason for cutting off the head is simply to avoid you seeing the dull, sunken eyes and grey-tinged gills. Other fish that regularly get the "freshly prepared" treatment include: plaice, dab, herring and whiting. As for mackerel, unless it has been smoked, I personally wouldn't eat any mackerel that was older than 24 hours after capture. The best mackerel I have tasted is taken straight from the sea, dispatched, filleted and then eaten sashimi-style, with soy and wasabi. The flesh is sweet with a taste that can only be described as "of the sea". I freeze mackerel and garfish to use as flattie (turbot & brill), bait in the Spring because I can't guarantee a supply of fresh bait. Even the fish I use as bait will be subject to the same icing and vacuum packing treatment as I'd use for table fish.

So, quite often, the freshest fish that most people could buy is the fish that has been quick-frozen either at sea or immediately on landing. It is usually individually quick-frozen, employing "blast-air freezing" techniques to lock in the original flavour and keep any deterioration of taste and texture to an absolute minimum. This method of freezing is far superior to what anyone can achieve at home, so when I call on you again, you can be sure you're getting the best fish available.

So, Fishman Dave finally succumbs to the blogosphere. Here I hope to leave politics and religion to the side and concentrate instead on my love for catching sea fish, cooking & eating what I've caught (or occasionally bought) and also my love of TGG - Rugby League.

I'm making no promises about how regularly posts will appear and even less about the accuracy of any posts but keep watching and maybe we can learn together.